Meet Our Paleontologists

We believe that science is exquisitely capable of asking and answering questions about the natural world, revealing the universe's fundamental truths. We also believe that the most effective way to advance science is to embrace collaboration, multi-disciplinary approaches, and technology - both old and new.

Our scientists have diverse, yet complimentary backgrounds, skills, and research interests that allow us to approach research questions from multiple angles and perspectives.

JASON P. SCHEIN

PALEONTOLOGIST

Photo Credit: B. Malinowski

Jason studied geology and paleontology at Auburn University and later paleontology at Drexel University. He has extensive field experience in the southeastern U.S., North & South Dakota, and Patagonian Argentina. As the former Assistant Curator of Natural History at the New Jersey State Museum, Jason led numerous research efforts primarily focused on Late Cretaceous vertebrates of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. It was there that he also co-founded and co-led the Bighorn Basin Dinosaur Project.

Jason C. Poole

Chief Fossil Preparator

Image Credit: B. Malinowski

Jason C. Poole is an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and the Dinosaur Hall Coordinator at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Jason has excavated dinosaurs on three continents: Africa, South and North America. Paralititan, Dreadnoughtus, and Suuwassea are three dinosaurs worked on by Poole which are new to science, and two of them are supermassive titanosaurs. Jason can often be found in the Academy of Natural Sciences Dinosaur Hall Fossil Lab preparing newly found fossils which will spend the rest of their afterlife in museum collections. Mr. Poole is also a Paleontological Artist who has published in National Geographic and whose art work appears in many museum and private collections.

DR. Rick Schmidt

Geoscientist

Photo Credit: B. Malinowski

Rick Schmidt first studied the geosciences and science education at Penn State University where he completed his bachelors degrees (B.S.,B.S., 1993) and masters (M.Ed., 1997) before moving on to Drexel University for doctoral studies (Ed.D., 2011). His dissertation focused on the positive links between secondary level geoscience programs and higher education, an area of interest that continues to the present. A growing field interest lies in the constantly growing use of UAVs for various paleontological applications including aerial surveying and mapping.

BRITTANY MALINOWSKI

STUDENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Photo Credit: B. Malinowski

Brittany Malinowski studied biology at Arcadia University (B.A., 2013), and is currently pursuing her Masters in Secondary Biology Education (MSED) at Saint Joseph's University. Brittany has extensive fossil preparation experience from both the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia and the New Jersey State Museum. In addition, she has previous experience as a field assistant (2013-2014) and served as Assistant Crew Chief (2015-2016) for the Bighorn Basin Dinosaur Project.

Laura Rooney

STUDENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Photo Credit: L. Rooney

Laura received her B.A. in anthropology from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter College in New York. During her undergraduate studies, she focused on primate evolution but her primary research interests lie in the evolution of archosaur locomotion. After completing her Bachelors, she interned at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia and the New Jersey State Museum where she worked as a fossil preparator and educator. She is currently working on her Masters in paleontology at East Tennessee State University and is studying skeletal morphological features in living and extinct crocodylomorphs to determine if they can be used as indicators of locomotor adaptations.

DR. JENNIFER "INDY" ANNÉ

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Photo Credit: J. Anné

Dr. Anné is a paleobiologist with an interest in bone chemistry and paleopathology (bone disease and trauma). Her work has allowed her to use some of the most powerful sources of energy-synchrotrons in existence. She uses these machines to look at the trace elements that are important for bone repair, remodelling and development to tease out these biological processes in extinct vertebrates. Dr. Anné also uses microCT and thin sections to look at bone histology (micro structure) to diagnose ancient vertebrate conditions like trauma, disease and infection (paleopathology).

Ashley Adams

STUDENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Image Credit: A. Adams

Ashley Adams studied geology and anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, where frequent visits to the Carnegie Museum continued to influence her love for ancient environments and the creatures that lived there. For her Masters, Ashley explored a northern section near Big Bend National Park, utilizing ArcGIS and modern analytical mapping techniques in combination with traditional field mapping and stratigraphy to reevaluate and update the understanding of the geology in the area, in addition to expanding the paleontology known from the Big Bend area. Currently Ashley is working on her PhD at Drexel University, with a focus on northern Morrison geology and stratigraphy.